When I tell people I haven’t had a desk for 20 years, they usually respond with thinly veiled skepticism.
当我告诉人们我已经有20年没有办公桌了，他们通常会几乎不加掩饰地表示怀疑。
They smile and nod politely, clearly assuming I’m exaggerating to make a point about my hectic lifestyle.
他们微笑并礼貌地点头，显然假设我是在夸大我的紧张生活方式。
But I genuinely haven’t.
但我真的没有。
Occasionally someone will call me: “Really?" they ask. "How does that work?”
偶尔有人会给我打电话：“真的吗？”他们问。“这是怎么回事？”
I do use a desk, but in all honesty I don’t have one at our London office, and I haven’t had one since we started out.
我确实用过一张桌子，但老实说，在我们的伦敦办公室里，我没有一张桌子，而且自从我们开始工作以来，我也没有过一张。
Remote working, hot-desking, fluid office shares and digital hangouts are all changing the shape of work in the 21st century.
在21世纪，远程工作、办公桌热办公、流动办公共享和数字出没都在改变着工作的形态。
I didn't preempt any of these trends, but I did find a way of working that was best for me and my business, and I’m not surprised it's becoming more common.
我没有先发制人，但我确实找到了一种对我和我的企业最好的工作方式，而且我并不惊讶它变得越来越普遍。
If you’re running a company with clients all over the world, then being desk-free is a great way to stay mobile, responsive and in touch with clients.
如果你经营的公司客户遍及世界各地，那么无办公桌是保持移动，响应和与客户联系的一个很好的方式。
It’s liberating.
这是解放。
There are some solid statistics here too to keep your CFO happy.
这里也有一些可靠的统计数据，可以让你的首席财务官满意。
A report by consultants Brickendon says the average annual cost of keeping a desk is £8,000 in London, $13,000 in New York.
咨询公司Brickendon的一份报告称，在伦敦，保持一张办公桌的平均年成本为8000英镑，在纽约为1.3万美元。
Apparently that adds up to an average spend of £4.1 million in the UK and $6.7 million in the US on desks per company.
显然，每个公司在办公桌上的平均花费在英国为410万英镑，在美国为670万美元。
But much of this goes to waste; the same report estimates around £1.6 million and $2.6 million is spent unnecessarily by companies on desks.
但其中大部分都被浪费了；同一份报告估计，公司在办公桌上不必要地花费了大约160万英镑和260万美元。
Another report on the subject asserts desks are generally only ever at 48 percent of capacity utilization.
另一份关于这一主题的报告称，办公桌的容量利用率通常只有48%。
The overheads alone make a compelling case to go desk-free. I’m not saying it’s the best model for everyone, but I believe the following points making it worth considering for any business leader in the 2020s.
光是管理费用就足以令人信服地实现无办公桌模式。我并不是说这对每个人都是最好的模式，但我相信以下几点让20世纪20年代的任何商业领袖都值得考虑。
Realize the potential of remote working
实现远程工作的潜力
Too many entrepreneurs see remote working as a way to cut costs by saving on office space and utilizing a competitive talent pool of freelancers.
太多的企业家将远程工作视为节省办公空间和利用具有竞争力的自由职业者人才库来降低成本的一种方式。
But that is just one dimension.
但这只是一个维度。
Remote working also gives you, the CEO, the opportunity to constantly network.
远程工作还为您(CEO)提供了不断联网的机会。
By being out of the office, you’re able to move with your clients, coming to them within a few days rather than waiting for the next time they just happen to be in your city.
通过离开办公室，你可以和你的客户一起搬家，在几天内来到他们身边，而不是等到他们下一次碰巧在你的城市。
If you really plan your schedule, you can minimize disruption, travel time and jet lag and actually take advantage of time differences.
如果你真的计划你的时间表，你可以尽量减少干扰，旅行时间和时差，并真正利用时差。
Working spaces in hotels, trains, planes and even cars still aren’t optimal, but they’re improving all the time, because these companies realize their facilities are a deal-breaker for some of their best clients.
酒店、火车、飞机甚至汽车中的工作空间仍然不是最理想的，但它们一直在改进，因为这些公司意识到，对于他们一些最好的客户来说，他们的“设施”是一个破坏交易的因素。
The same is true of their digital communication systems; there isn’t really anywhere in the world you can’t take a conference call.
他们的数字通信系统也是如此；世界上没有任何地方你不能参加电话会议。
Better networking
更好的网络
Desk-free working should mean more face-to-face meetings, not fewer.
无办公桌工作应该意味着更多的面对面会议，而不是更少。
Everybody is now digitally connected.
现在每个人都是数字连接的。
That puts a premium on meeting colleagues, suppliers, clients and potential prospects in person.
这使得与同事、供应商、客户和潜在客户面对面会面变得更加重要。
閱讀更多 甘河一老漢 的文章
